Madhu Knits and Cooks

First (Failed) Attempt to Recreate a Restaurant Favorite - Little Beet's Quinoa Oatmeal

Many years ago, I loved treating myself to the Little Beet's breakfast quinoa oatmeal.  A location (maybe their first?) opened in the midtown Manhattan building I worked in, and I quickly discovered that not only were their vegetable lunch options a delight, but also their breakfast contained a lot of surprises.  

The breakfast quinoa in particular was outstanding - vegan, creamy, full of spices like cardamon, and filling.  One portion could often be two breakfasts or serve as both breakfast and lunch on a busy day.  

Unfortunately though, with the passage of time, I both no longer live near any Little Beet locations, nor does the Little Beet appear to offer a breakfast menu anymore.  After many attempts to find a recipe or clues on the ingredients used, I recently decided to improvise my own breakfast quinoa oatmeal.  I drew some inspiration from other online recipes for breakfast quinoa, though none seemed to be based on, or that close to, the Little Beet version.

Here is what I did:

• Combined 1/2 cup rinsed quinoa with 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/16 tsp. each of ground cloves and nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. each of ground Vietnamese cinnamon and ground ginger, and 2 pods of cardamon
• Cooked above mixture in the Instant Pot for 1 minute under high pressure, and then did a natural release
• Added 1/2 tsp. of vanilla maple syrup to the finished quinoa

Here is what I found about this approach:

• There was far too much clove in the recipe, and I should have rinsed the quinoa for longer to get rid of more of its bitterness.
• In addition, I probably should have cooked the quinoa for longer - maybe 2 or 3 minutes to get more of a creamy oatmeal type texture versus just cooked quinoa.  Also, it might make sense to do a longer cook time on the stovetop instead of a pressure cook.
• I think more sweetness would have helped - which also could have come from some fresh fruit (maybe bananas) and more agave or maple syrup on top, a la a photo I could find of the Little Beet version.  

I'll report back if I get closer to my memory of this fantastic breakfast!

Cauliflower with Ajowan and Ginger - Earthy, Simple Indian Cauliflower Preparation

Madhur Jaffrey's Vegetarian India has become my new favorite cookbook with yet another solid, simple recipe. 

Jaffrey's Ajwainwali Gobi or Cauliflower with Ajowan and Ginger is based on the recipe from Aurobindo Ashram, a place we have visited before in India.  It was quite a surprise to find that connection in this cookbook, let alone a recipe that makes use of ajowan / ajwain, a spice I bought long ago to prepare Ethiopian food and have had yet to use!

I found the prepared cauliflower, which was just lightly steamed on the stovetop, very earthy and flavorful.  The ajowan had a lighter and slightly more herby flavor than cumin, and my husband got some caraway flavor notes (though I did not).  I would make this simple cauliflower again and again, similar to the great kalonji greens which have become a frequent homemade staple.  

My First Chili! Instant Pot Mixed Bean and Sweet Potato Chili - Filling and Slightly Sweet

With an embarrassing amount of Rancho Gordo beans in our pantry, I finally decided it was time to make my first chili.  I turned to Cook's Illustrated to find just the recipe, which their Instant Pot Bean and Sweet Potato Chili turned out to be.  Slightly sweet from the sweet potato, onions, and tomatoes; great depth of additional spice and flavors from the medley of dried spices; and a varied texture from the different beans and creamy sweet potato.  The flavor was almost like baked beans.  

I halved the recipe, and ended up cooking the beans for 4 minutes more than called for - I think because I used some of the Rancho Gordo Chiapas beans which require a much longer cook time than most black beans.  Some of the beans were still not cooked.

I also used fire roasted tomatoes (14.5 oz. can) because it's what I had on hand, fresh ground ancho chile powder, and no coriander.  I would make this again for a cold week.

Madhur Jaffrey Can't Stop, Won't Stop - Bengali Kale / Collard Greens + Punjabi-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower

I recently checked out Madhur Jaffrey's Vegetarian India from the library, and after making these two recipes, I went ahead and bought it.  The book seems full of simple recipes, but unique and canonical, that I look forward to mainstreaming in our kitchen. 

I made these first two dishes the same night -  a Roasted Cauliflower with Punjabi Seasonings and Stir-Fried Baby Kale Cooked in a Bengali Village Style.  

I largely followed the marinated cauliflower recipe as is, though I omitted the ground coriander to meet my personal preferences.  I really liked the tart lemon and ginger marinated cauliflower.  It was a savory and spicy dish with a pleasing mouth pucker.  And because it's a largely hands off prep via oven roasting, it's a good side dish to add into any meal.  

The kale - in which I've twice substituted collard greens, and once curly kale - was nothing short of outstanding.  I would make this with every meal if I could.  The kalonji adds a nice herby flavor to the greens, and the chile adds a wonderful fresh spice flavor.  I really like the approach of steamed the greens in the pot with some water after sautéing with the flavored oil. 

No need to use Bengali mustard oil - though I recently bought some - and the slightest bit of sugar seems to do wonders as well to reduce the inherent bitterness in these dark greens.  Perfect, simple greens for any meal!

Chia Seed Smoothies - A More Personally Palatable Method for Chia Seed Consumption

With a big bag of chia seeds in our pantry, and a dislike for the textures of chia seed pudding, I decided to try blending chia seeds for consumption instead.  It worked!  

Upon consulting the internet, I decided the best approach would be a simple chia seed smoothie. 

I would made a 1-to-4 chia to oat/almond milk pudding, put in the fridge overnight or for a few days, and then blend the pudding with frozen fruit and more non-dairy milk for a breakfast smoothie. 

Even with my non-Vitamix blender, the chia chunks smoothed out and the result was a yogurt-like smoothie.  The fruit flavor remained the star attraction, and no additional sugars were needed. 

I am now separately on the fence about blending fruit for smoothies because eating whole fruit is much healthier, but at least I have temporarily solved what to do with our chia seeds!

Ovenly's Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

For a short spell over the holidays, we adopted a fully vegan diet.  As longtime blog readers know, much of what I already cook is vegan so this wasn't too dramatic a change.  However, it did affect some of our standard at-home preparations, notably desserts.  

The only sweet snack I made during this vegan stint was Ovenly's great vegan chocolate chip cookies.  I've had this Brooklyn bakery's cookies in person, and they are truly wonderful.  A bit heavier and thicker than the chocolate chip cookies I generally prefer, but very moist and rich with sugary cookie flavor.

At home, these cookies turned out similarly though were softer and underbaked than what I've had compared to the bakery.  I baked the cookies for a few minutes longer than the recipe 12-13 minute baking time, but many were still very soft in the middle.  I did rotate the cookie sheets, and wonder if I should have used the convection setting?

Regardless, these were a solid thicker and moist cookie.  It's not generally my favored outcome for chocolate chip cookies (I like crisper cookies), but I will make these again if I want a vegan cookie!

Weeknight Pinto Beans - Lessons Learned As We Enter Bean Season

Is there anything more comforting than warm, creamy beans on a cold night outside?  Well, perhaps said beans in a lovely soup. 

I am more than ready for the fall and winter days ahead with an embarrassing amount of Rancho Gordo beans in our pantry.  I started my seasonal bean preparation with an impromptu weeknight pinto bean dish a few weeks ago.

These beans were flavorful, but both not as complex or time consuming as my favorite pinto bean approach to date - the Cook's Illustrated Drunken Beans.  I also learned the appropriate (soaked) pinto beans Instant Post cooking time - 31 - 33 minutes - something I learned after starting the cooking settings for 25 minutes, then adding another 7 minutes after the beans were not fully cooked.  As I look for comforting, simple bean dishes this year, this recipe will become a staple!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pinto beans, soaked in water for 6 hours
• 1/4 onion, diced
• 1/4 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp chile powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• Shake of dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• cilantro, chopped (optional - for garnish)

Directions

• Drain soaked beans and add ~1 cup fresh water, oregano, and bay leaf to the Instant Pot inner pot.
• Set the cooking settings to 31 minutes on high pressure.  Ensure the safety valve is closed.
• After the cook time is over, let the pressure cooker go through its natural pressure release process (~20 minutes)
• Then check the beans to ensure they are your desired consistency.  Switch the Instant Pot setting to saute, and add remaining ingredients, including 1 tsp. of salt to taste.
• Cook for an additional 7 - 10 minutes until the beans absorb the flavor of the seasonings.  Garnish with cilantro if desired and serve immediately.

Pizza Dough with a Food Processor? If Chris Kimball Says So...I Will Try!

I have one tried-and-true pizza dough recipe that has yet to be displaced, despite many attempts at new dough preparations.  Could I be narrowing in on an alteration that could take this recipe standard to the next level?  Cautiously, yes. 

The recipe innovation?  Kneading the dough in the food processor instead of by hand, a tip we picked up listening to Christopher Kimball's Milk Street podcast.  Kimball made a passing reference to using a food processor for pizza dough, sparking our minds that this could be the accelerant to extra delicious dough.

Fueled by this tip, I found a Williams Sonoma food processor dough recipe online.  I added 3 teaspoons of the King Arthur Flour pizza dough flavor to this fairly standard recipe.  With a regular metal food processor attachment - not a special dough attachment - I developed very smooth and glossy dough in just under a minute of processing.  I then halved the dough into two balls, covered them in olive oil, and put them in the fridge for a 24 hour cold rise.  The dough balls rose significantly in the fridge, perhaps even more than doubling?

When I prepared the pizzas themselves, I found the dough less easy to roll than my standard dough, even at room temperature.  I used my fists to drape the dough over as I found gravity more helpful than anything else I was trying.  

I then did my standard pre-baking of the dough on a heated pizza stone before adding the toppings to place ~4 inches away from the broiler.  The result was a chewier dough than we are used to, but not one that was unpleasant.  The crust held up to the toppings, and had a nice yeasted flavor.  

I think my next step is to try my standard pizza dough recipe (with King Arthur pizza flour) using the food processor and going from there.  Excited to see what this innovation, that is so much easier on my arms, results in!

Instant Pot Indian-Spiced Cauliflower Two Ways - Winning Technique

Thanks to the Ministry of Curry Instant Pot cookbook, I discovered a new way to prepare cauliflower with the Instant Pot.  And no, the result isn't an over processed cauliflower mash, but rather nicely just-tender florets.  

The secret?  One minute of high pressure followed by a quick release and removing the cauliflower (1/2 head, cut into 2-inch florets) from the Pot.  Voila!  That's it!

Yes, I could talk about the recipes I used to prepared the above served dishes, but neither was fabulous.  The first was Julie Sahni's Gohbi Sabzi, which similar to many of the Classic Indian Cooking recipes I have tried was quite bland.  The second was the Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook Curried Cauliflower with Peas, which was a bit over spiced from the coriander (1 tbsp in recipe, which I reduced to 1 tsp, but was still too much), garam masala, and tomato that didn't quite land.  But the technique is one I will use to find a quick prep cauliflower to my liking!

Lisa Fain / The Homesick Texan's Salsa Tatemado - Mild, Smokey Tomato Salsa

With Cinco de Mayo fast approaching, I decided that I wanted to up my salsa game and turned to the excellent Homesick Texan for advice.  I settled on Lisa Fain's salsa tatemada recipe because it seemed sufficiently different from other salsas that I've made.

The salsa ended up being quite easy to prepare, even with my substitution of tomatoes on the vine for plum tomatoes and my use of a foil-lined quarter baking sheet instead of a skillet.  You basically roast the heck out of the ingredients before blending the ingredients with salt and water.

The result was smokey, mildly spicy, and had an unexpected herbiness from the fresh cilantro blended into the salsa.  I added extra salt to to get more of the ingredients' flavor to come out, and moving forward I will likely play with the cilantro ratio.  There was something  unpleasant I found about the fresh cilantro blended in with the roasted ingredients, even though I otherwise like cilantro. 

Regardless, this will likely be a recipe repeat this summer!